Cursed
by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz
Summary: OUAT AU- A peek into the lives of the residents in a small town living under a curse.
1. Chapter 1

**This came out of a series of headcanons given by taleasoldastime-andspace on Tumblr. Because I'm a sucker for AUs, I wound up writing it.**

 **Hopefully, you all enjoy it!**

* * *

"So while adenine pairs with thymine in DNA, it binds with uracil in RNA," Lillian Stein explained to her class. "However, guanine and cytosine always come together in either. Nothing changes there. They always find each other."

The bell rang as she capped her marker. Her students started to pack their notebooks and pencils away, chattering away with each other.

"Remember your lab reports are due tomorrow," Lillian called after them as they began to leave. "Don't forget to include your graphs."

There were a few groans. Lillian turned around to erase the whiteboard she'd written on for the class. She didn't have a class next period, and the ones that followed that were not biology. There were still some physics tests she needed to finish grading. Her prep hour could be spent working on that.

After gathering up the tests, her gradebook, and a few pens, Lillian left her classroom to go to the teacher's lounge and ran right into someone. "Oof!"

"Sorry," Ray Palmer apologized as the tests fell to the floor. "I didn't see you there, Miss Stein."

"No worries, Mr. Palmer," Lillian bent down to pick up the stapled packets.

The school's janitor dropped down low to the ground. "Let me help you out."

"Thanks," she smiled, taking the tests from him as he passed them to her. "How have you been?"

"Good," Ray nodded quickly. "Things are good. Felicity and I went on a hike last weekend."

Lillian ignored the twinge of jealousy that hit her when Ray mentioned his wife. "That sounds nice."

"It was," he replied before perking up. "Oh! You know how you've been trying to get your hands on a Van de Graaff generator?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, uh, I managed to build one."

"Really?" Lillian grinned. "That's amazing!"

He smiled at her as silence fell over them.

Lillian shifted the tests in her arms. "I should get going to grade these. I'll see you around."

"Cool."

She walked away quickly, telling herself not to look back. If she had, she would have seen Ray looking back at her too.

* * *

Gideon Ryder pressed 'Save' on her finished article before leaning back in her chair. She stretched her arms and legs out with a groan. For the past five and a half hours, she'd been working her way through her assignments. As much as she loved working at the paper, sometimes she wished there was more that happened in the sleepy little town. She needed some juicy story to rescue her from writing about the latest mundane road construction.

The editor would be by later to pick up her articles. There was about an hour of time to kill until he'd pass by. Gideon sat back again to contemplate what to tackle next when her stomach began to growl. It reminded her that she'd yet to eat lunch yet. She could pop down quickly to the diner a few blocks down the street, have a bite to eat, and then walk back with time to spare.

Grabbing her coat, Gideon left the newspaper office and began a brisk walk down the street. A cold breeze blew down through the town, making her shudder and hug her coat tighter to her body. In the distance, she heard the sirens of the fire engine fading as it sped towards a fire. It'd probably wind up being another story she'd have to write tomorrow.

The warm air inside the diner made Gideon exhale happily as she entered. She placed her order and waited at the counter, listening to the conversations around her. There were a few pieces of gossip that she filed away for later as she ate her lunch. After she'd paid, she bundled back up and stepped outside to make her return trip.

"Gideon!"

She whirled around to see Rip Hunter, fisherman and town eccentric, running towards her. "Captain Hunter."

"I need to ask you something," the man said. "Will you-"

"No," Gideon turned and began to walk away. "I refuse to participate in anything related to that insane theory of yours."

"It's only hypnosis therapy. It could help you remember who you are!"

"I know exactly who I am!" she huffed. "And it has never been the spirit of your ship. I am a journalist, always have been and always will be!"

"Gideon, wait!" Rip protested. "You need to believe me!"

She shook her head. "Rip, you're rambling. I know it's been difficult ever since you lost your family, and you've been working non-stop since then. Just take some time off. Please."

With that, she walked away from him as he stared at her sadly.

* * *

As soon as he pulled up to the veterinarian's, Mick braked hard and threw the truck into park. Gathering up the shuddering pile in the passenger seat, he carried the dog towards the office. There had been some pets in the fire his crew had just put out. The dog he held was the only survivor of the lot, but she wasn't in good shape.

Lucky for him, he knew someone who could help.

The door slammed hard against the wall as he burst into the clinic. Mick cringed when he saw the mark that had been left in the wall.

"Mick Rory, I swear if that's you!"

Amaya Jiwe came storming out of the back room, hair flying behind her in a ponytail. In their old lives in the Enchanted Forest, she had always been a force to be reckoned with. Here, she had been locked in the basement of the hospital with no clue who she was until Mick bargained with the Legion of Doom to give her another life years ago. Now, every day he woke up and found she was a veterinarian for the town. She managed to retain her ferocity now, but became as meek as the others in town whenever Malcolm Merlyn, Damien Darhk, or Eobard Thawne showed up.

"How many times do I need to tell you not to slam the door open like that?" she sighed as she caught sight of the mark in the wall.

He had lost count over the years, and that didn't include the implanted memories of this cursed life. "Got a patient for you, Doc."

She looked at the dog and stepped towards him. The poor animal whimpered a little as she took her from Mick's heard her murmur softly to the dog as she walked towards an examination table. Mick followed after her, looking over the posters and diagrams put up on the walls.

"Found her in the fire we just put out," he explained as Amaya started to look over the dog. "Couple other pets were there too, but she's the only one who made it out alive. Ran her over here as soon as I could."

"Good thing you did," Amaya murmured. "She's got a few burns I'm going to have to treat, along with some previous injuries. I'd like to keep her here overnight for observation in case she starts showing more signs of smoke inhalation. Do you know anything about the owners?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. All these years he'd had, and Mick had never been able to figure out who had caused the fire or who the animals belonged to. "No one owned the house that burned. Neighbors had no clue there were even animals inside."

"Strange," she said. "Well, I'll take her in for now. Hopefully, an owner can be found."

"I'll look into it," Mick told her, moving towards the door. "I'll come around tomorrow."

"Okay. See you then."

He'd never find the owner. Tomorrow, he would indeed be back here again. The curse made every day repeat itself over and over in the same way. One day, the Savior would come and change that though. She'd set in motion a series of events to break the curse the Legion of Doom had cast twenty eight years ago.

Then, Mick would have his power back to burn the world.

* * *

Clarissa Hofmann entered the hospital room, book in hand. The John Doe was in the same state as he always was. She had no idea how long he'd been in that coma for. However, when she'd volunteered at the hospital before, Dr. Thawne had asked her to keep an eye on him. No one had been visiting him or claimed him in any way.

"So he has no one?" she'd asked once she'd heard the story.

"Not a soul," the doctor had replied.

In that way, she felt a kinship to John Doe. He seemed to be around her age, but the lack of visitors made her think he had no family or friends. She was alone in the world too. Mainly, Clarissa kept to herself. Yet oddly enough, the unknown comatose man made her feel a little less alone.

At least when he woke up, she wouldn't have to do all the talking for both of them.

"Hope you don't mind me reading to you," Clarissa told him as she opened the book. "I'm not sure if you're one for poetry, but I've always enjoyed Robert Frost."

He didn't say anything as she started to read Fire and Ice. For about an hour, she stayed and read to him before leaving the hospital. As she did, a young woman who she believed taught at the local school came in. She held the door for Clarissa as they passed each other. After murmuring a quiet thank you, the older woman started her journey home.

(One day soon, she'd get a book from Laurel Drake to read to the man. She would read a story of a man who could burn like the sun to the John Doe. Only then would he grab her hand and finally start to awaken.)

* * *

Mayor Leonard Snart gazed out the window of his office as he prepared to leave for the night. From here, he could see the face of the clock tower. Its hands had been frozen at 8:15 for as long as he could remember. If his reelection campaign proved successful, then he would make a town-wide effort to have it restored to working order. However, that could only really occur if he got reelected.

Damien Darhk was competing against him to take his place as mayor. Leonard knew he was well-liked by the people in the town, but Darhk posed a serious challenge. Along with Eobard Thawne and Malcolm Merlyn, Darhk was one of the most powerful men in town. Many people in the town were intimidated by them, and fear could provide a lot of pull. He had called Mick earlier to tell him about his concerns of losing his campaign, but Mick had only responded by assuring him that he would be mayor for 'a very long time'.

Gathering up his coat, Leonard left his office and walked out of the town hall. As he did, he recollected that he was supposed to have met with Laurel Drake today. However, she had never shown up for it. He'd heard that she'd been acting strangely lately. Hopefully, nothing was seriously wrong with her.

(He ran into Laurel three days later. She was with a blonde woman named Sara who looked like the last place she wanted to be was in the town hall. When he met her, he didn't know why he suddenly had thoughts of criminal activity crossing his mind.)

* * *

Sara Lance blew out the candle on her cupcake before dropping back into a chair. Looking out the window of her new apartment, she sighed at the view. Star City was no different than any other city she'd worked bail bonds in. Tonight's assignment had been successful, but she'd broken a heel and lost a knife. At least she'd gotten a happy birthday from her mark before revealing that she was onto him. She couldn't remember the last time someone had acknowledged her birthday. It wasn't like she hung around long enough anywhere for people to do so.

Did her own parents, or at least her mother, ever think about her on her birthday?"

A knock on the door pulled Sara back from the slippery slope of wallowing in misery. Rising to her feet, Sara padded over to the door and opened it. On the other side, a brunette who looked like the lawyer type was standing there. She seemed harmless, but Sara still made sure she could grab a knife if she needed to.

"Sara Lance?" the stranger asked, her eyes widening.

"Yeah," Sara nodded slowly. "Who are you?"

"My name's Laurel Drake. I'm your sister."

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 **Ta-Da!**

 **Reviews=Love**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back with more! Hopefully you'll all enjoy a little Speedystorm!**

* * *

"Hey!"

The thief whirled around from the carriage he'd been looting. Jefferson drew his sword as he stepped out into the clearing. In the light of his torch, he could see a red hood visible above the dark cloak worn by the thief. Immediately, he recognized it to be the description of one of the outlaws that were running around the forest. This was Will Scarlet, Robin Hood's second in command.

"Hands where I can see them," Jefferson ordered, approaching Scarlet.

A sound almost like a giggle came from underneath the hood. Quick as a shot, a bow was snatched from behind Scarlet's back and an arrow was flying towards him. Jefferson deflected it with his sword, giving Scarlet enough time to climb onto a horse. He started to escape, but Jefferson wasn't letting that happen. The King was elsewhere right now, but he didn't need to become Firestorm to stop the thief as he mounted another horse to give chase.

Jefferson managed to catch up to Scarlet, who turned towards him as he did. Quick as he could, he leapt over at the thief in a tackle. The two went down off the horses and rolled down a small hill to the edge of the forest. Jefferson made sure he could pin Scarlet down before ripping off his hood. His eyes widened immediately.

Will Scarlet was not a man, but a girl. Her brown hair was long and somewhat curly, held back by a leather tie. Her eyes sparkled brightly with frustration at being caught. Jefferson couldn't help but gape in surprise for a minute. This hadn't been what he'd been expecting at all.

"What?" he uttered, loosening his grip a little. "You're a girl? How are you a thief?"

That probably could have phrased it better. However, the girl smirked up at him.

"I can be both," she said smugly. "Stealing's easier this way."

She bolted upright and pressed a kiss to his lips. Jefferson was surprised by the action. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, but he was still shocked. The girl then pushed him back hard so he hit the forest floor. When he rolled back up, she was disappearing into the trees.

"You can't run forever," he shouted as her red hood disappeared into the forest.

At his feet, he spotted an arrow with red feathers at the end. It must have gotten dislodged from the girl's quiver. Jefferson picked it up and twirled it around between his fingers. Then he retreated to go find the horses to bring them back.

* * *

Mia Merlyn opened the door to the mechanic's shop. "Hello?"

"Back here," a voice called. "Give me a sec."

Mia walked over to one of the chairs in the main office and took a seat. She took her phone out to see a text from Roxie pop up on the screen. Before she could type a response, a guy close to her age in a jumpsuit came in, wiping his hands on a rag. Mia stashed the phone back in her purse and stood up.

"Hey," he gave her a small smile. "I'm Jax."

"Right, I talked to you earlier," Mia nodded.

"Mia Merlyn," Jax's eyes went a little wide and she sighed. Everyone in town always had that reaction whenever they heard her last name. Just because her father was one of the most powerful men in town, everyone was afraid of her. It wasn't like if she got wronged that they'd get turned into toads.

"Yes, that's me," she sighed. "The one with the car that ran off the road."

"I remember hearing about that accident," Jax said.

Mia raised a hand to the butterfly strip by her eyebrow. "Yeah, although my car's pretty messed up."

"Well, I'm the best mechanic in town," he chuckled. "Although I'm the only mechanic in town."

"Then that still makes you the best," Mia smirked. "I was hoping that you can work your magic on my car? It's a Pagani Huayra, so I hope it won't be too much trouble."

"Damn, that's one hell of a car."

"Yeah. If you need any help with ordering parts for it, then I'm happy to do everything I can to help out."

Jax snorted. "Proves what I've heard about you."

Mia narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Mia Merlyn, spoiled rich girl. Thinks throwing money at whatever she's messed up will fix everything she's damaged."

"Seriously?" Mia rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm just trying to help out!"

"Ever thought of trying to do it another way too aside from money?" Jax asked. "Maybe like community service? Did you get that for the crash? Or did your dad get you off that too?"

Mia cocked her head to the side. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. It was refreshing, but it also made her angry. This self-righteous jerk thought he knew everything about her. She clenched her fists tightly.

"Just fix the car," she snapped. "All I wanted was to get past this, not dredge it back up. If there's any problems, let me know."

With that, she stormed out of the shop and down the street.

* * *

 **There still may be more to explore in this universe. I'll see.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I've wanted to write this part of Cursed since I finished the first chapter, and I finally found time to do it this weekend. Hooray!**

* * *

Mick lingered outside the hospital room, watching the people who walked past him. He'd been here every day in the past three years when the curse had brought them to this land, checking in on one of the firemen who'd gotten injured in a fire that day. Poor guy got injured every day in the last three years. Every day was the same here, except no one remembered it save for him and the Legion members who cast the curse.

He knew almost everything about this town and what everyone did here. The only thing he had no idea about was Amaya. She had been alive when the curse had hit the Enchanted Forest, but he hadn't found her here. For the past three years, he'd combed every inch of the town for her that he'd been able to get into. There hadn't been a sign of her, and he worried what the Legion had done to her.

However, Mick watched as a nurse left through a door controlled by a keypad. For weeks, he'd been making note of it so he could time it right to get inside. Quickly, he darted over to it before it closed and caught it quickly. Making sure that no one was watching, Mick slipped through the door and walked down the flight of stairs. The fireman made his way into a corridor, eyeing the doors that lined both sides. This was a part he'd never seen of the town before.

There were flaps at eye level on each of the doors. Mick peered into one to see that a room with a single bed and a barred window. He made his way down the hall, peeking into each room to find them empty. At the sixth room, there was a woman with tangled dark hair sitting on the bed who looked towards him. Mick inhaled sharply when he recognized Amaya's puzzled look.

"Amaya," he said, forgetting about the curse and what it had taken from everyone.

She stared at him with confusion. "Is that my name?"

The uncertainty in her voice broke his heart. Mick let the flap drop and backed away. His vision went red as he stared at the door. The Legion had done this to her. With everyone else, he didn't mind it. But with her, this was different, more personal.

* * *

"Who's going to tell me why I'm here?" Malcolm Merlyn demanded as he stepped out of his car and walked towards the other men gathered beside the forest.

Eobard Thawne and Damien Darhk turned toward him and stepped aside. The Dark One, or Mick Rory in this world, was revealed as they moved. Malcolm raised his eyebrows as he looked over the other man. When they had cast the curse, the Dark One had wanted nothing to do with it. They'd barely interacted with since they'd cast it, as they no longer had a need for him.

"Why is he here?" Malcolm asked.

"Because I want to strike a deal," the Dark One growled.

Malcolm glanced to his compatriots. "A deal?"

"He remembers who he was back in our world," Thawne sighed. "I don't know how. Not even Snart remembers, and he helped cast the curse before betraying us."

"I'm the Dark One," Mick sneered. "I was prepared. I made the damn curse with a loophole to keep my memories if it was ever cast upon me."

"So what do you want?" Darhk asked him. "We held up our end of the bargain, gave you a decent life and all that. What's changed?"

"Amaya."

The three men exchanged looks before Thawne spoke up. "That girl from your castle? The one who left you?"

"You kidnapped her," Mick growled. "And now you've imprisoned her here. Took me three years to find her, and you lock her up in a basement."

"Well, it was that or the library," Darhk said smugly. "We all know what she's capable of. Believe me, I think you'd agree that this is the better outcome than letting her live in that other-"

Mick punched Darhk before he could finish his sentence. The two men stared each other down, looking ready to start fighting. Malcolm rolled his eyes and stepped between them. Someone had to be the reasonable one here. "Enough, you two."

"Give her back her memories!" Mick ordered, pointing at them.

"You know that can only happen when the curse is broken," Thawne reminded him. "We couldn't do it if we tried."

"Then I'll bring the Savior to town sooner than you want."

Malcolm shook his head. "That's not possible."

"The Savior isn't supposed to be here for twenty more years," Darhk added. "There's no way you can speed this up."

"Are you sure about that?" Mick stepped towards them. "I know you brought magic to this world. Ever thought you weren't the only ones?"

The Legion remained silent.

"The Savior should be here by her twenty-third birthday," Mick continued. "The curse can be rewritten by the writer. I can make her come sooner to break the curse. Twenty? Eighteen? Stop me when you're too nervous."

"We can't give her back her memories," Thawne said sharply. "But we can alter her current ones."

"Eobard-" Damien started, but Malcolm held up a hand.

"Thawne, what are you doing?" he hissed.

"Offering a deal," Thawne raised a finger. "What if we give dear sweet Amaya a good life, one outside the hospital? It'd take a lot of effort, so we might need something from you in return."

"Like what?"

"Extend the curse," Eobard stated. "If you really can change it, then give us five more years at least, and Amaya will be freed from the hospital."

Malcolm nodded his agreement. Five years gave them extra time to prepare for the Savior and how they could run her out of town to keep the curse intact. Everyone who had stood in their way would suffer forever as they got their happy ending.

Mick sighed. "It's a deal. Five more years of the curse for Amaya's freedom."

Damien gave a wicked smile. "Excellent."

* * *

The next morning, Mick woke up in the firehouse to the alarm bell. The crew on duty got sent out to a fire at an abandoned house. A bunch of pets were inside, but only one-a dog- made it. One of the guys suggested he take the animal to the vet, something that had never been said before. So Mick found his way to the vet's, slamming the door open as he rushed the pooch inside.

His eyes widened as he saw Amaya striding out and yelling at him for slamming the door open.

During his time in her office, Mick saw how happy Amaya was. Back in the Enchanted Forest, she had loved animals. That love seemed to be back over here as she made sure the dog was okay. He saw that she was happy in this life, which made him happy. All he'd ever wanted was for her to have happiness.

As he left the vet's office, he saw Eobard Thawne's car pulled up behind his truck. The blond man was leaning against it, something in his hand. Mick sighed and walked over to the car. It was time to hold up his end of the bargain.

"Thank you," he muttered to the man.

Thawne shrugged, passing over a small bottle. "Now it's your turn. Thought you might have some use for some squid ink. Luckily, Damien had some lying around."

Mick clenched his hand around the ink. "Five more years. No more, no less."

"Excellent," Eobard climbed back into his car. "Pleasure doing business with you, Dark One."

Mick glowered at the car as he drove away. When he looked up, he saw little Laurel Drake staring at him across the street as she walked along with a woman she believed to be her mother. The child was an anomaly in the town. In the past three years, she had been the only one in the town who had aged, but she didn't really notice that every day was the same. Laurel had no clue who her parents really were, who she was, and who her sister was. Now, he'd condemned her and the rest of the town to five more years of repetition just to save Amaya from living in the basement of the hospital.

If he could back and do everything over after finding Amaya, he'd still do it again.

* * *

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 **And if you want to see anything else in this AU, drop a comment below!**


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